South Africa's Irreconcilable Differences

Once again, the South African government is vacillating between two competing interests: maintaining popular support and fostering economic growth. Late Dec. 9, South African President Jacob Zuma replaced Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene, who was appointed to the job in May 2014, with David van Rooyen, a ruling party member of parliament from Merafong, a municipality west of Johannesburg. The appointment caused the value of the rand, already at record lows this year, to plummet even farther, from roughly 14.8 to 16 to the U.S. dollar by Dec. 11....